President's Day

Photo of the Day

Roadside Marker, Highway 1, February 5, 2018 - Click to enlarge

I found the title on the marker odd. "Inspiration: A Wild Coast and Lonely" I suspect someone was copy-editing and the instructions went wrong. I see the original title written as "Inspiration: A Wild Coast" at which point an editor inserted (and Lonely). The better title would be "THe Wild and Lonely Coast." The result is an odd pairing.

The picture of Edward Weston is what caught my attention. When I started taking pictures in my late teens I read his Daybooks and studied his style and techniques. I was fascinated how he brought out the beauty of the everyday; cabbage heads, rocks on the shore, peppers and succulents. I worked hard to try to copy his work, studying Ansel Adam's zone system and even buying a 4x5 view camera.

Pretty soon I was seeing his style in many of the local photographers and I discovered Group f/64. First it was students earnest in trying learn the craft. Then it became the 'Point Lobos' style and soon it just become cliche. I felt like everything was derivative of Weston's work and I became bored. Bordem led to cynicism - I've see this SO many times before - and I stepped away from photography.

With retirement I got a chance to clear my mind and return to the joy of taking photographs. It's okay to be inspired and see things as others have seen them. Of course there will be similar images. But I'm no longer chasing the images or even the processes. I'm back to using the camera to see things fresh in my own mind's eye.